Daily Republican., 1887-11-28
AN EGO BEAT.
tswn,n th. nnasan f.laha

"Do you know that manF asked por.
tly marketman, whose butter and cheese
stall 10 well known at the Quincy Market.
"No," replied the writer.
"We1l, be ia an egg beat. Don't know
what that isi W,il, a simple explanation
will suffice. Early every morning, just
as day breaks, when you newspaper men
are going home 10 bed. and we provision
folks are taking an early breakfast In the
North Market street restaurants. this fel.
low whom you saw leave the car gets up
and comes sneaking down TO the market.
He generally dresses to look like q poor
country farmer for sake Of appearances.
He brings basket along and coming up
to dealer says, Have you got any cheap
eggsf By that he means eggs that we
consider, If not rotten, too poor for mar
ket and are about TO throw them away.
Sometimes we have and then again we
haven't. II we have some we generally
crAck:up trade Say, for instance, we
give him five dozen eggs for forty cents.
He Is happy in the bargain and we make
little something, besides having them
taken out Of the way.
"Weli, to cut long story short, the
egg beat hunts around until he has seeur.
ed some ten dozen eggs, aud then he
starts home with perhaps a dollar less In
his pocket than at the outset, but very
good thing ahead. He cleans the dirty
eggs up as well as he can, and makes
them look as fresh as II they had just
come from the nest--in reality, they are
perhaps two months old. Then he goes
up 10 an with his farming clothes on
hndi Oh, no II Is a notion which many
1 ysanr1fs IA 90 that oil rho far thau o. nj
city market must be oleomargarine, all
The eggs stale and the milk and cheese
old. 80 when they see a farmer who
has, or at least represents that he has, a
farm out In the country, they are willing
TO pay almost twenty-five per cent. more
for bis goods. This is true especially on
the Back Bay.
| "Now the beat takes advantage OF this
fact. He knows that every fool can't tell
the difference between q geruine coun
tryman aud North Ender If they dress
alike. Thereupou he goes to work, get.
an old suit OF clothes, generally composed
of jumper and oyeralls, goes of with a
lbig bluff on his tongues end and wins
He rings the bell OF some nice residence,
and explains TO the servant tnat he wants
her to ask mistress or cook II he can
leave five dozen fresh eggs lie lives al
Wayland. where he has got large hen
farm, and he assures Mary, upon his
honor, that every Gag Is not two days old
He answers ell the questions regarding
his stock In trade that may be asked, and
finally disposes OF the lot at a great sacri
hce-eO cents per dozen. Then he goes
away and takes caro- not TO call Mt that
lparticular house until sufficient time has
passed TO erase from the servants mind
all remembrance OF his face. Thus, you
zee, he has made 81 without work and
has good stock In hand besides. Before
the day passes he has dis posed OF his en-
tire supply ard goes home perhaps Is bet
ter oil. That is the csg beat Some
times they get hard up for money TO in
vest, and then they sklrmish around II
barrels aud waste boxes for the eggs WI
, have thrown away. Altogether II is th'
meanest swlndle on record. a A man whit
will sell rotten eggs would steal SOU
milk from blind kitten In the dark, am
. that's about the sneakcLcst thing
know"